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edifice, the residence of Mr. Hamilton Bailey, who was thanked for his courtesy 

 in allowing an examination of the castle and grounds. The Rev. R. P. Hill ex- 

 hibited a drawing of the castle as it appeared before its demolition, and Mr. Piper 

 read an account of all that he could collect respecting its history. He said that it 

 was built by Lord Beauchamp, of Powick, in the reign of Henry VI., but was 

 demolished some time in the 17th century. There was an old story that in a vault 

 here was a chest of treasure guarded by a raven, and whoever discovered it would 

 be a fortunate man, but the bones of the last lord who owned the castle must be 

 first found. 



The carriages took up the party at Bronsil, and conveyed them at once to 

 Ledbury, but a pause was made at the Court House, where Mr. Piper had kindly 

 arranged all the articles that had been secured from the excavations on the Beacon 

 Camp, and these, all carefully labelled, were inspected with much interest. 



At five o'clock, the united Clubs partook of a plain dinner at the Feathers 

 Hotel, Mr. G. H. Piper presiding. When dinner was concluded, the toast of 

 " The Queen " was loyally responded to, and Dr. Bull was requested to give some 

 account of the mistletoe. 



Dr. Bull, in responding to the call, said he was sorry to find that the 

 Mistletoe Oak in Eastnor Park was in a declining state, and the plant in less 

 quantity than he had formerly seen it. He claimed Herefordshire as the head- 

 quarters of the mistletoe ; it possessed several oaks with mistletoe upon them, held 

 sacred in Dniidical times, which were very scarce in Worcestershire and other 

 counties. It had been said that male and female mistletoe plants never grow to- 

 gether on a tree, but he must contradict this, as he had seen them growing together. 



Mr. E. Leks said that he had assisted Dr. Bull in hunting up Mistletoe Oaks 

 in Herefordshire, and two had been discovered in Worcestershire. There was a 

 physiological fact respecting the mistletoe, which it would be interesting to his 

 Herefordshire friends to examine. Professor Buckman, in a work on "Orchard 

 Trees," had stated that the mistletoe was of advantage in exciting the growth of 

 apple trees, and causing them to produce fruit earlier than they otherwise would. 

 An enterprising firm of nurserymen, Messrs. Smith, of Worcester, in accordance 

 with this idea, had been advertising young apple trees for sale with the advantage 

 of the parasite already growing upon them. Shakespeare had called the mistletoe 

 a "baleful " plant, but it was for experience to decide this. 



Dr. Bull, in reply, remarked that mistletoe might stimulate the growth of 

 young apple trees, but if apples were produced earlier, they would be smaller and 

 deficient in flavour. Orchards oppressed with mistletoe, when they became old, 

 made a very wretched appearance. 



Your President then expressed the thanks of the Woolhope Club for the 

 kind reception their Malvern friends had given them. The excursion was a most 

 enjoyable one, and many desired "happy returns of the day." 



The second field meeting of the Club vi^as held on the 22nd June, at Bent- 

 hall Edge (Buildwas). Mr. Griffith Morri.s (Vice-President) kindly filled my place. 



